Utilities & Payments - Frequently Asked Questions

You will need your email address and your utility account number.

On the Paymentus Registration page, you will create a profile using your email address and a password.  Once logged on to the Paymentus Customer Portal, associate your utility account number with your profile using the Accounts > Add Account option. 

You can get your account number from a copy of your bill or by calling our Utility Billing Office at 630.377.4426.

No, you can make a one-time payment through Paymentus without an online profile. You will need your 16-digit utility account number located at the top of your bill.

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

Of course, you can still make your payment in person, at a drop box, through the mail, or through other existing methods.

Yes, the Paymentus payment site requires third-party cookies be enabled for their site. When cookies are disabled you are unable to make payments or access bill information online, and you will see a message that you must have third-party cookies enabled in your web browser.

 See the Paymentus Privacy Policy for more information about their use of third-party cookies. 

What are cookies?

Cookies are small files which are stored on a user's computer. They are designed to hold a modest amount of data specific to a particular client and website, and can be accessed either by the web server or the client computer. This allows the server to deliver a page tailored to a particular user, or the page itself can contain some script which is aware of the data in the cookie and so is able to carry information from one visit to the website (or related site) to the next.

• An online profile gives you the most payment options
  • Schedule automatic payments each month
  • Pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit card, or from your checking account (eCheck)
  • Call the 24-hour payment number to pay over the phone
  • Pay online from a computer or mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone
  • Pay by text from a smartphone (coming soon!)
  • Pay directly from a bill emailed to you in a monthly notification (coming soon!)

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

• You can view a copy of your paper bill
• You can view your online payment history
• You will receive an email notification to let you know when your bill is ready and when a payment has been received.

There are many ways to pay your utility bill. Setting up an online profile with Paymentus gives you access to the most payment options, your usage and online payment history, and will allow you to receive email notifications. However, you don’t need an online profile to pay your bill.

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

• You may pay in-person at the Utility Billing Office, with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, cash, check, or money order.
• You may pay by mail via check.
  City of St. Charles Utility Billing Office
  2 E. Main Street
  St. Charles, IL 60174
• The City offers four convenient locations for you to drop off your electric, water or sewer bill payments. Please note all cash payments are to be made inside the Municipal Building in the Utility Billing Office.

For all utility bill payments, late payment penalties apply. 

Please contact an account representative at (630) 377-4426, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with any questions.

Pay online or through the automated phone service with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, or from your checking account (eCheck).  *Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

If you are paying in-person at the Utility Billing Office, you also can pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, cash, check, or money order.

Late payment, returned check, and insufficient funds charges do apply.

Call the 24-hour toll-free number (844) 443-9794.

You can hear your utility balance and due date as well as pay your utility bill using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, or from your checking account (eCheck).  *Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

You will need your 16 digit account number located at the top of your bill.

City utility payment drop boxes can be found at:

1. East side - 2700 block of East Main St., in the Foxfield Commons Shopping Center (near Super Cuts)
2. Downtown - City Hall/Municipal Building (2 E. Main St.) - Drop box located in the door at the southeast side of the Municipal Building
3. Downtown - City Hall/Municipal Building - north Municipal parking lot - next to the USPS mailbox
4. West side - 1515 W. Main Street - at the St. Charles Police Station

For security reasons, your current online profile cannot be transferred to the new system. You must set up a new online profile with Paymentus to take advantage of all of the additional benefits of the Paymentus system

As a first-time bill payer, you can set up online payments after your receive your first paper bill in the mail. Once you receive your first bill, you will be able to create your profile with Paymentus for online payment.

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

No. This service gives you access to the most payment options, complete online payment history, and allows you to set up email notifications.

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

One of the additional benefits of the Paymentus service is the ability to add multiple accounts using the same profile. When you receive your new account number for the new address, simply add the new account to your Paymentus profile.

To set up automatic payment of your utility bill each month, you first must create an online profile with Paymentus. You can autopay on your choice of day using Visa, MasterCard, Discover, debit cards, or from your checking account (eCheck).

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

Autopay is also available through the City of St. Charles using your checking or savings account without a transaction fee. https://www.stcharlesil.gov/ubills/enroll

No. The City will continue to process existing Auto Pay transactions.

You can create an online profile with Paymentus if you would like to set up a new eCheck schedule or use new banking information. However, to avoid duplicate payments or payments made using old banking information, please contact the City Utility Billing office at 630.377.4426 or utilitybilling@stcharlesil.gov to discontinue your existing Auto Pay schedule. 

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

Yes. To have access to the additional forms of automatic payments, you must create an online profile with Paymentus.

*Please note* ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

Please note your city established Auto Pay payment schedule will continue as a default payment method only if there is a balance due on your account on your due date. To avoid using this default Auto Pay, either

1. Pay your account balance through Paymentus (or other means such as in person or through mail) prior to your due date, or
2. Contact the City Utility Billing office at 630.377.4426 or utilitybilling@stcharlesil.gov to cancel your existing Auto Pay schedule prior to your due date. 

Requests must be submitted either by phone (630-377-4426) or in writing (send to City of St. Charles, 2 E. Main St., St. Charles, IL  60174) by January 30, for the previous year's Utility Bill history.

You can view your online payment history when you log into your online profile with Paymentus. Only online payments made through Paymentus are available here. Payments made through the previous online system or through other payment methods will not appear in your Paymentus history.

If you have an online profile with Paymentus, you can choose to get your bills by:

• Email
• Paper
• Email (pdf) (COMING SOON)
• Text (COMING SOON)

Viewing your bills online or receiving email notifications is a free service. However, ANY payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee per transaction.

If you have already opted for paperless billing, you will continue to be paperless. However, if you want to receive notification directly from Paymentus when new bills are ready, you will want to create an online profile with Paymentus.

You can view your utility usage when you log in to your online profile with Paymentus and view a copy of the paper bill.

Paperless billing allows you to receive notice of new City utility bills in an email (or coming soon, by text). You can choose paperless billing when you set up an online profile with Paymentus. Please add BillPay@Paymentus.com to your contact list to be sure you receive emailed bills.

There are no fees for regular payments. However these charges will be applied for:

• Late payment:    10%
• Payment returned for any reason: $20
• ALL payments done using our payment processor PAYMENTUS will be charged a $3.95 fee

No, once you have authorized a payment and received confirmation, you will need to contact your financial institution to cancel the payment. This may be subject to additional fees.

If you have scheduled a payment for a future date, you can make changes and/or cancel up to one (1) business day prior to the scheduled date.

Yes, however your account is subject to a 10% penalty on the current balance due.

Payments made prior to noon Central time on a business day will be credited the same business day.

The payment will appear as "CITY OF ST.CHARLES 630-377-4426 IL" on your bank or credit card statement.

Account balances are updated once per day. Payments made before noon will be reflected on the Paymentus site within 24 hours. Payments made after noon will be reflected within 48 hours.

Customers can pay up to $5,000 per transaction using the Paymentus payment portal.

There is a 10% late fee on current charges for bills not paid by the due date.  We will remove one late fee per year. 

Please contact Utility Billing at 630-377-4426 for removal of a fee.

Please note, if the Paymentus service is unavailable or you cannot complete your online payment through the Paymentus service, you are still responsible for timely payment of your City utility bill.

Payments made prior to noon Central time on a business day will be credited that same business day. Payments made after noon Central time will be credited the next business day.

Yes. Online payments will receive a "Payment Confirmation" email and IVR (phone payments) will receive a verbal confirmation number once the payment has been accepted.

About 60% of your total energy usage comes from heating and cooling; another 20% results from heating your water, and the other 20% comes from appliances and lighting.

You can save energy costs by following some of these familiar steps.

A.   Turn off the lights when leaving the room, especially incandescent bulbs. The bulbs are only about 20% efficient. The rest of the energy is given off as heat. On the other hand, converting to modern compact florescent bulbs, which are lower in wattage and longer lasting, will conserve more energy.

B.   Lower your gas furnace thermostat a couple of degrees from your normal setting. This could translate into a winter monthly cost savings in electricity as well as gas, since your gas “forced air” furnace still needs a fan connected to an electric motor to push the air throughout the house. For example, every degree you dial back on your thermostat can save 2-3% on heating.

C.   As older appliances need replacement, purchase new appliances with higher efficiency ratings.

D. Reducing the temperature on the water heater down to its normal setting of about 110 – 120 degrees and insulating the heater will save energy.

E.   Save over 50% of your water heater usage by taking a few minutes off your shower time and using the cold water setting on the clothes washer whenever possible; about 80% of the energy used to wash clothes is for heating the water.

F.   Make sure your refrigerator setting is set at a reasonable temperature and not too cold. Recommended values per DOE (Department of Energy) would be in the range of 37 to 40 degrees for the fresh food compartment and about 5 degrees for the frozen food section.

G.   Swimming pool pumps draw a substantial amount of current. One way to save energy is to reduce the running time of the pump. Realizing that circulating the pool water keeps the chemicals mixed and captures floating debris through the skimmer, a study was done recently in Florida involving 120 residential pools. One of the outcomes of the study was that most people who reduced the pumping time to around 3-4 hours per day, while still happy with the water’s quality, saw a 60% reduction in their electric bill in pump usage.

H.   The U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency set the criteria for the Energy Star Label. Appliances having the energy star label are high-performance products, which should reduce operating cost of the appliance over the lifetime of the product. When shopping for an air conditioner, look for an EnergyGuide label with a high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER). The higher the ratio, the more efficiently it operates. In regards to clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers, look for the EnergyGuide label that tells how much electricity in kWh (Kilowatt hours) these appliances will use in a year. The smaller the number, the more efficiently they work in using less electrical energy.

The charges for residential electric users can be found in Section 13.08.230 of the St. Charles Municipal Code
The charges for residential sewer users can be found in Section 13.12.830 of the St. Charles Municipal Code. The charges for residential water users can be found in Section 13.16.190 of the St. Charles Municipal Code.

Additional information about utility billing can be found at Utility Information section of the City website.

This includes the months of October through March.

For questions about your utility bill, usage, payment due date, readings or service, contact the City of St. Charles Utility Billing Office at 630.377.4426 or utilitybilling@stcharlesil.gov.

Hours of operation are Monday thru Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm

Contact Paymentus Customer Care at customercare@paymentus.com or via Phone Support at 1-800-420-1663.